Suspect arrested in JonBenet Ramsey case

[Swordlady]

It took ten years for someone to get arrested for JonBenet's murder: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/jonbenet_ramsey

I don't know about the rest of you, but I smell a rat. A big one.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

It took ten years for someone to get arrested for JonBenet's murder: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/jonbenet_ramsey

I don't know about the rest of you, but I smell a rat. A big one.

I read FBI Profiler John Douglas' take on the Ramsey case in his book "The Cases that Haunt Us", and his take was that the Ramseys WERE INNOCENT. The were so savaged in the media that I had a hard time believing him, although he laid out a pretty compelling case for their innocence. The greatest tragedy is that Mrs. Ramsey died before
possibly being exonnerated.

 

[Makalakumu]

It's worse then that, Jon, think about all of the other things we should have been thinking about at the time? This little girl was murdered and I feel for her loss...but I can't help feeling that this is just one of the multiversal distractions that we are all faced with.

What is really important to your life? Jon Benet's murder or...lets say...

upnorthkyosa

 

[Swordlady]

I read FBI Profiler John Douglas' take on the Ramsey case in his book "The Cases that Haunt Us", and his take was that the Ramseys WERE INNOCENT. The were so savaged in the media that I had a hard time believing him, although he laid out a pretty compelling case for their innocence. The greatest tragedy is that Mrs. Ramsey died before
possibly being exonnerated.

But this is why I find this whole case and recent arrest so dodgy: JonBenet was killed in her family's basement. Where were her parents? She certainly shouldn't have been left alone in that house with someone who was NOT a relative or babysitter. Somehow, I found it very hard to believe that her parents seemed to know "nothing" about JonBenet's murder - when it apparently happened right under their noses in their own home.

Like I said, I smell a rat.

 

[MA-Caver]

But this is why I find this whole case and recent arrest so dodgy: JonBenet was killed in her family's basement. Where were her parents? She certainly shouldn't have been left alone in that house with someone who was NOT a relative or babysitter. Somehow, I found it very hard to believe that her parents seemed to know "nothing" about JonBenet's murder - when it apparently happened right under their noses in their own home.

I uhh somewhat resemble that comment mmm'kay? (peace :wink1: )
Besides isn't that what babysitters are for? So that you can leave your child at home with someone else to do your thing; work, sig-other date, etc?

For what it's worth it does seem dogey that NOW a suspect/arrest has been made after so long. But then again it isn't. Watching episodes of "cold-case" files sometimes reveal that "impossible cases" are sometimes solved over time.
Yes it is sad/tragic and everything what happened to the whole of the Ramsey family. The media storm by the rags that pretend to be newspapers were literally un-ceasing in their witch-hunt of the parents or whomever the murderer was/is.

So tragic it is; for the little beautiful girl and for the parents.

 

[Swordlady]

Erm...I know I used a double negative, but what I meant to say is that JonBenet should not have been left alone in the house. She should have been under the supervision of a relative or babysitter. And her parents should have known who was watching their daughter, if they weren't home. That is why I find it hard to believe that her parents were so clueless about their daughter's murderer. The whole case was handled poorly, IMHO.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

Erm...I know I used a double negative, but what I meant to say is that JonBenet should not have been left alone in the house. She should have been under the supervision of a relative or babysitter. And her parents should have known who was watching their daughter, if they weren't home. That is why I find it hard to believe that her parents were so clueless about their daughter's murderer. The whole case was handled poorly, IMHO.

There are still some unanswered questions here; however, there's a big differenc between possibly making a parental judgement error and purposefully torturing and murdering your child.

 

[Kacey]

Being just up the street (so to speak; more like 20 miles or so) from the scene of the crime, there was an insane amount of speculation going on around here at the time of the murder and shortly thereafter - most of which centered around the belief that the Ramsays were somehow involved... but NO evidence of their involvement was ever found, no matter how hard people looked for it. At the time, I was convinced of their guilt. Now? I'm not sure. Certainly, I find an unlooked-for confession after all this time, by a person who was caught for another crime, to be rather too pat a solution, but it could happen. I will suspend belief/disbelief until more of the purported facts are reported.

 

[Lisa]

I certainly hope they have the right man. I hope that they convict him and put him away so the family can have some peace and I pray that the Ramsay's don't get dragged through the mud and tabloids again. I believe they have suffered more then enough.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

Being just up the street (so to speak; more like 20 miles or so) from the scene of the crime, there was an insane amount of speculation going on around here at the time of the murder and shortly thereafter - most of which centered around the belief that the Ramsays were somehow involved... but NO evidence of their involvement was ever found, no matter how hard people looked for it. At the time, I was convinced of their guilt. Now? I'm not sure. Certainly, I find an unlooked-for confession after all this time, by a person who was caught for another crime, to be rather too pat a solution, but it could happen. I will suspend belief/disbelief until more of the purported facts are reported.

In the absence of credible evidence, they deserve the presumption of innocence. Of course the presumption of innocence applies to the legal justice system not public opinion (for instance the courts presume innocent until proven guitly, even if the "alleged" perpetrators are caught on film - but individuals CAN form their own conclusions), but absent ANY evidence, the media and public opinion were grossly irresponsible in this case, IMO>

 

[Don Roley]

I thought the Ramseys were involved. Now it looks like they were not. I am trying to overcome my original bias against them and look at the case with new eyes. That is not easy. But I think we should all try it. After years of finding no evidence against them despite the savaging they got in the media, the goverment has made an arrest against someone. They are that confident when they seem to have nothing against the Ramseys. And the fact that this piece of slime was already in jail on a sex related case seems to bolster the case.

Yet again, I was wrong about a case in the media. Live and learn. I look forward to the details. But knowing criminal cases, I do not expect much until the actual trial goes on.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

I thought the Ramseys were involved. Now it looks like they were not. I am trying to overcome my original bias against them and look at the case with new eyes. That is not easy. But I think we should all try it. After years of finding no evidence against them despite the savaging they got in the media, the goverment has made an arrest against someone. They are that confident when they seem to have nothing against the Ramseys. And the fact that this piece of slime was already in jail on a sex related case seems to bolster the case.

Yet again, I was wrong about a case in the media. Live and learn. I look forward to the details. But knowing criminal cases, I do not expect much until the actual trial goes on.

That's exactly where I was at - until I read John Douglas' summation of the case. He was OUTRAGED by the media frenzy (and mis-reporting) that convicted this poor family in the court of public opinion WITHOUT A SHRED OF EVIDENCE OF GUILT.

Apparently this slimeball, as you so aptly put it, has been arrested for commerce in the, largely underage, sex-trafficking scene in Thailand.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

Suspect John Mark Karr confesses to murder of JonBenet Ramsey:

SUSPECT


It should be noted, that according to the article, Kerr had a long-term fascination with child murders and child murderers and even tried to contact several. He was busted for possession of child pornography and fired as a substitute elementary school teacher in 2001.

Since, according to police reports, there IS some DNA evidence, we will know before too long whether his confession is valid or not.

Either way, he's a mother****er...

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

One thing is for sure is that we all need to relax a bit and not judge these types of cases until the evidence is presented. It is so easy to be swept up by the media or public opinion that sometimes we can let ourselves be swayed if we are not careful. In this particular case I must admit that I felt that the parents were probably involved. Part of that may have been my general distaste of the idea of child beauty pageants.

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com

 

[Jade Tigress]

But this is why I find this whole case and recent arrest so dodgy: JonBenet was killed in her family's basement. Where were her parents? She certainly shouldn't have been left alone in that house with someone who was NOT a relative or babysitter. Somehow, I found it very hard to believe that her parents seemed to know "nothing" about JonBenet's murder - when it apparently happened right under their noses in their own home.

Like I said, I smell a rat.

I don't smell a rat. This is not the first time a child has been murdered in their own home while the parents were sleeping. Children have also been taken from their homes while the parents were asleep.

One thing I remember from this case is that there WAS evidence of a break-in. Compelling evidence, that was overlooked, because of the focus on the Ramsey's. I remember watching a show on it that detailed so much evidence of an intruder breaking in through the basement window from the outside along with many other clues pointing to an outsider that I was appalled the Ramsey's were under suspicion.

Also, Patsy Ramsey knew about this suspect before her death so that is some comfort.

Personally, I think it's a terrible tragedy to not only have your child murdered by an intruder, but then to be accused of it, especially when there was evidence of a break-in that put on the back-burner. I feel sorry for them.

 

[Kacey]

One of the biggest concerns is that errors were made by the Boulder Police Department which muddied the evidence and made it look like a cover-up - to the extent that no one was really sure what had happened. As has been said, I will be waiting until the DNA results come back before forming a final opinion. Because of the errors made at the crime scene, however, while a DNA match would be conclusive, the lack of a match would simply muddy the waters further.

 

[Grenadier]

A slippery slope indeed.

I can certainly sympathize with most of the views here. Maybe the Ramsey folks could have done something different, maybe not.

Regardless of the "what if" situations, though, the bottom line is that John Mark Karr bears the ultimate responsibility on this matter. He is the one who chose to attempt an abduction. He is the one who chose to murder her when the kidnapping attempt went awry. He is the one who chose to flee from the scene.

Before anyone tries to play the "blame society" card, keep in mind, this guy wasn't exactly an angelic being...

When asked how he could travel for so many years in Asia, and whether he was independently wealthy, Hurst responded, "We're asking the same questions."

Police said Karr had been living in a dormitory-style guesthouse called The Blooms in a neighborhood of massage parlors and travel agents that cater to expatriate residents and sex tourists. The nine-story hotel offers rooms for as short as three-hour rentals.

The district attorney in Boulder, Mary Lacy, said the arrest followed several months of work.

She said Karr, who had traveled extensively across the world, may also be connected to a prior case in Santa Rosa County, Calif. She did not provide further details.

Sonoma County Chief Deputy District Attorney Joan Risse confirmed the child pornography charges and arrest warrant against a John Mark Karr, though she cautioned that she didn't know if he was the same person held Bangkok. State records show Karr lost his teaching credential in 2002.

In the end, I'm glad that this situation has been brought to somewhat of a close, and that some peace of mind can be found. Unfortunately, for the Ramsey family, their names have been defaced so badly by an over-zealous media, that even with this vindication, are going to find it difficult to find acceptance in this world.

By all rights, the Ramseys should have been able to sue, and win a big judgement, against the media sources that painted them the villains.

Supposedly, Karr has an alibi. We shall see...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060817/ap_on_re_as/jonbenet_ramsey

Karr's ex-wife, Lara Karr, told KGO-TV in California that she was with her former husband in Alabama at the time of JonBenet's killing and she does not believe her former husband was involved in the homicide.

She said her ex-husband spent a lot of time studying the cases of Ramsey and Polly Klaas, who was abducted from her Petaluma, Calif., home and slain in 1993.

 

[Bigshadow]

My wife and I were discussing the news this morning before work. We feel like regardless of what has happened in the case up to this point, if this is indeed the killer, alot of people owe the family a huge apology. Even I was convinced in the beginning it was a family member.

I believe this is a very positive example of the good that the justice system can do, even with it's faults.

 

[MA-Caver]

I'd like for folks here to take a perspective on the so-called "newspapers" and media that have been after the Ramseys since the discovery of the body.
We're talking National Enquirer, Weekly World News, and the other tabloids which print Jon Bennett's face on their covers at least twice a month. These are the same "newspapers" that tell us Brad Jennifer Angelia are breaking up/making up/breaking up/making up/having a threesome, an affair, breaking up, making up. Oh here comes Nicole... Tom's ex into the picture while Tom is with Katie... HUH?
These are not (IMO) legitamate news-papers or even a media source for FACTUAL information. Exploitive to the point of a desire to firebomb their printers.

It has been those types of "medias" that has smeared the Ramsey's name and sowed so much suspicion and muddied the investigation by making it hard to have a decent jury selection when the time comes.

Sigh, it's not over yet.

 

[crushing]

I certainly hope they have the right man. I hope that they convict him and put him away so the family can have some peace and I pray that the Ramsay's don't get dragged through the mud and tabloids again. I believe they have suffered more then enough.

Yes, they have been 'Richard Jewelled' by the authorities and the media enough already.